"Italian menus don't have to be daunting...the first-ever English version of Mangia Italiano, a guide that will help you decipher more than 3,000 Italian menu items." —Food Network Magazine

"From region to region, Italian ingredients, ingredient names, and preparation styles vary widely. In this guide to dish variations, Cesari (La Cucina Bolognese) briefly introduces each region, discussing geography, distinct traditions, and spotlight ingredients, then covers antipasto, pasta, soups, sauces, seafood, meat, vegetables, dairy, sweets, liquors, and wines.... Wisely sticking to its mission to be a concise tabletop culinary dictionary, this clearly organized and indexed guide is divine for travelers who have ever been stunned by what they ordered. Also valuable as an introduction to Italian regional cuisine or as an ingredient-conversion reference for the home cook." —Library Journal

"Divided by region, this compact but remarkably detailed guide describes more than 3,000 menu items, from antipasti and pasta to soups and vegetables to cheeses and wines, along with a discussion of ingredients and numerous recipes. A discussion of what makes each region unique precedes the actual descriptions. ....The guide comes with a detailed glossary of fish, meat and vegetable terms."
— Chicago Tribune

"It's a delightful compendium for its compact size, its satisfying details and for Cesari's (and Simon's) writing. Descriptions, though concise, are lush. We learn not just what foods to expect, but how they taste, their texture and their aromas....Americans tend to think of Italian food as too familiar, but 'Italy Dish By Dish' reminds us that there are many dishes waiting to be encountered..." — Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

"The chunky new book, with the dimensions of a nice portion of lasagna, is really a guide to Italian food no matter where you eat it. Region by region, plate by plate and glass by glass, it provides definitions and background for thousands of items."
—Florence Fabricant, The New York Times

"Susan Simon's translation is the sort of guidebook—more of a mini food encyclopedia, really—that you pull out when you are in a tiny trattoria in Lombardy, just settling in for lunch (lucky you). But you have no idea what timballo di piccione might be, nor does your waiter have any idea how to explain in English that the Renaissance-era dish is made, according to Cesari, "with rigatoni or a similar pasta shape, mixed with boned, stewed pigeon, then wrapped and baked in short crust." —Jenn Garbee, LA Weekly

Monica Sartoni Cesari has had a long career in the world of Italian gastronomy. She was the educational director of the prestigious school of La Cucina Italiana and was awarded the distinguished Commandeur de la Commanderie des Cordons Bleus de France. She is the author of several books, including La Cucina Bolognese. Along with organizing numerous food exhibitions and shows, she has contributed to many well-known Italian food magazines, including Sale e Pepe, Cucina Moderna and A Tavola. She is currently the senior editor of Cucina No Problem.

Susan Simon is the author of six cookbooks, including Visual Vegetables, The Nantucket Table,The Nantucket Holiday Table, Contorni: Authentic Italian Side Dishes for All Seasons, Insalate: Authentic Italian Salads for All Seasons, and most recently as the writer for Pasta Sfoglia, which won a James Beard award.. She writes a bimonthly food column for The Nantucket Inquirer & Mirror and contributes to Nantucket Today. She lived in Italy for eight years and currently lives in New York City. Her book, Shopping in Marrakech, is published by The Little Bookroom.

Visit Susan at www.susansimonsays.com